By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S AIW REVIEW SERIES
“J.T. Lightning Invitational Tournament: NIGHT 1”
May 23, 2014
CLEVELAND, OHIO

The show opened with a reel of promos. Jock Sampson’s promo on Buff Bagwell was epic and hilarious. Another promo worth going out of your way to see is Josh Prohibition’s passionate promo on Matt Cross going into their entire history together and what professional wrestling means to each of them in the grand scheme of things. It’s too bad some of the other wrestlers cutting promos didn’t seem to take theirs as seriously as Prohibition did and I would even have edited it out of the promo reel and let it stand on its own.

Colin Delaney cut a promo later on saying he had heard Prohibition’s promo and he didn’t mention him once. He said it was a mistake for Prohibition to look past him.

Ethan Page, Flip Kendrick, and Seleziya Sparx cut a promo backstage. Sparx was laughing at Page and he told her to shut up. Page and Kendrick realized they were in the same bracket and began arguing. Sparx closed the promo by saying while they argue, she will win the tournament.

The show opened with all the participants in the tournament coming down to the ring. They all posted together with the JLIT trophy inside the ring.

(1) Flip Kendrick vs. Matt Cross in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. Aaron Bauer and Matt Wadsworth were in on commentary. Cross jumped Kendrick before the opening bell to get the upper hand. Kendrick fired back and sent Cross to the floor. Cross methodically worked over Kendrick for a long period of time. Cross mocked the crowd before doing a standing moonsault, but Kendrick got his knees up. Kendrick fired up on Cross and hit him with a flurry of high-flying offense capped by a standing cannonball moonsault for a near fall. Kendrick hit a code red into the corner a short time later, but only got a 2 count. Cross set up for the SSP press off the top, but waved it off and the fans booed. Cross got down off the top rope and hit a piledriver on Kendrick for the win.

Winner: Matt Cross – There were some good sequences in this match, but overall it was flat. Cross did do a good job of trying to negate the cheers from the fans when he set up for his signature offense during the match.

(2) Tim Donst vs. Marion Fontaine in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. They did some comedy during the early stages of the match when Donst switched the ref in for Fontaine during a headlock spot. Donst then played the role of the ref and checked the ref’s arm. The ref fired up at 3 and Fontaine finally realized he was wrestling the ref, but Donst wiped him out with a running shoulder tackle and the fans popped big. Donst got serious and worked over Fontaine’s knee for a long period of time. They had a bit of an awkward exchange that ended with Fontaine hitting a big DDT on Donst. Fontaine fired up and hit a trio of cross body’s on Donst. He went for a forth off the top and Donst tried to cut him off, but Fontaine shoved him down to the mat and hit a huge frog splash for a 2 count. Fontaine continued his wave of momentum and he hit the kill switch for a near fall. Donst blocked a springboard moonsault and hit the gator roll for the win.

Winner: Tim Donst

Star rating: (**1/4) – This was a fun match at the start with some comedy. There were some awkward sequences in the match, but overall it was solid.

(3) Jimmy Jacobs vs. Eric Ryan in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. Dave Prazak joined Aaron Bauer on commentary. Both guys went right after each other at the start and Jacobs eventually bailed to the floor. They continued to go at it hot and heavy and Ryan ducked a spear in the corner and hit a coast-to-coast dropkick for a 2 count. Ryan hit two moonsaults off the top and went for a third, but Jacobs shoved him and he crashed into the barricade on the floor. Ryan fired back on the floor a short time later and went for a dive through the ropes, but Jacobs got out of the way and he went crashing into the guardrail again. The Jollyville F---it’s came down to ringside and distracted Jacobs. The fans fired up and chanted for Ryan. Jacobs cut off a Ryan comeback attempt and hit an ace crusher on Ryan. He went to the outside and shoved Russ and T-Money. He then went back after Ryan, but got rolled up for the win.

Winner: Eric Ryan – The action was solid while it lasted, but this match was designed to further the angle between Jacobs and Russ & T-Money.

(4) Heidi Lovelace (w/Sammy Geodollno) vs. Ricky Shane Page in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. Lovelace ran wild early and went for a dive, but Page caught her and dumped her onto the apron. Geodollno distracted Page, which allowed Lovelace to dropkick him off the apron to the floor. Lovelace slapped Page across the face, which fired him up as he ran wild on her. He went for a flip over the head kick to the back of Lovelace’s head, but it appeared to not connect at all. He covered Lovelace, but only got a 2 count. Lovelace countered a top rope powerbomb and hit a double knee strike off the top for a 2 count. Lovelace hit a springboard reverse hurricanrana that wasn’t smooth for a near fall. Page caught Lovelace with a rolling elbow off the ropes, but she got her foot on the ropes with the help of Geodollno. They battled up top again and Page went for a superbomb, but Lovelace countered it into a hurricanrana. She followed up with another hurricanrana on a kneeling Page for the win.

Winner: Heidi Lovelace – There was some good action here, but the work wasn’t smooth at times and it really took away from what otherwise would have been a really fun match.

(5) Louis Lyndon vs. Bobby Beverly in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. The announcers mentioned that Lyndon had recently picked up wins over Johnny Gargano and Kevin Steen, but to one up AIW Absolute Champion Michael Elgin, he would not be defending the intense title in this tournament. The announcers questioned his reasoning. Lyndon got the upper hand on the outside during the early going and connected with a missile dropkick to the back of Beverly’s head a short time later back inside the ring. Beverly mounted a comeback with a big clothesline on Lyndon. Lyndon fired back and hit the chaos theory with a bridge for a 2 count. They went to a strike exchange and Lyndon ended up flipping over Beverly into the dragon sleeper and he got the submission win.

Winner: Louis Lyndon – This was good while it lasted, but they kept it short. They did have a crazy spot where Beverly hit a Saito suplex and lifted Lyndon over the top rope and back into the ring, which was pretty crazy.

Bagwell got a big pop coming out and he’s still in very good shape. Buff got upset with Sampson while he was being introduced, but when he posed for the crowd the fans went nuts and threw streamers. Sampson cut a promo on Buff and said he saw him sucking on some fat woman’s p----- in the crowd. He asked Bagwell if he gets on his knees and poses for the guys down south too. Sampson said he has sex with girls for a living. The fans chanted “F—ing chick.” Sampson said tonight he would f--- him up for free. Bagwell asked him if his old lady is going to pay him off. He said when Sampson’s wife has her baby; they better get a DNA test. Well, this got personal.

(6) Buff Bagwell (w/Kash) vs. Jock Sampson in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. Bagwell hit a pair of atomic drops and a clothesline causing Sampson to bail to the floor. Sampson got on the mic and told Bagwell he’s lucky that he’s fat. Sampson said Bagwell had bought a hot whore with him. Sampson said he and Buff had gone to a strip club together a long time ago. Sampson said he was going to give Kash a lap dance. Sampson asked for some dancing music and Kash sat down in a seat in the ring. Sampson began dancing around Kash and the fans clapped along. “AIW is not for everyone,” said Prazak. Sampson grabbed wrestling holds while dancing on Kash. Bagwell stuffed a dollar into Sampson’s singlet. Sampson asked Bagwell if he wanted a turn and the fans began clapping. Bagwell then did his version of a lap dance on Kash. Sampson then attacked Bagwell from behind and the fans booed. That was awesome. Right after I typed that the fans chanted “That was awesome.” Sampson got Bagwell’s top hat and sun glasses and began strutting around like Bagwell. The fans chanted “Jock daddy” at Bagwell.

Sampson tossed Bagwell through the chair in the ring and continued to work him over. Bagwell fired back and dumped Sampson into the chair with a side slam. Sampson fired back and applied the iron claw on Bagwell. Bagwell managed to get free, but Sampson applied the iron claw again. The ref checked Bagwell’s arm, but he fired up the third time the ref raised his arm. They went back and forth and hit a double clothesline and the fans fired up. Bagwell fired up with a series of clotheslines followed by a neck breaker on Sampson. Bagwell ran out of the corner, but Sampson caught him with a power slam for a near fall. Bagwell fired back and hit the blockbuster for the win.

Winner: Buff Bagwell

Star rating: (***1/2) – It’s hard to rate this match, but this was pure awesomeness and the chemistry between Sampson and Bagwell was off the charts.

After the match, the fans chanted that Bagwell did in fact still have it. (1:43:12)

(7) B.J. Whitmer vs. Seleziya Sparx in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. The fans chanted for Sparx’s rear end when she made her entrance. Myers and Money heckled Whitmer from the crowd. Sparx twerked while the ref and Whitmer attempted to clean up the mess from a drink that was tossed into the ring. Whitmer took Sparx lightly during the early going and she got in some offense on him. Whitmer eventually hit a couple of huge chops and then dropped her stomach first over his knee. Russ and Money tried to cheer on Sparx with the fans. Sparx fired back and hit a missile dropkick and the fans fired up. Sparx and Whitmer were down on the mat. Sparx managed to float around Whitmer and she nailed him with a rotating DDT. Sparx hit a big German suplex a short time later for a 2 count and the fans fired up once again. Whitmer and Sparx traded forearms and Sparx got a rollup for another 2 count out of the exploder position. Whitmer got up and hit a pair of fisherman exploders for a 2 count. Whitmer then followed up with a traditional exploder, but lifted her head off the mat before the ref could count to 3. Whitmer hit another exploder and picked her up again before the ref could count to three. Russ and Money continued to taunt Whitmer. Whitmer hit the ref and Money and Russ charged the ring. Jacobs ran down and all four men began brawling.

Winner: Seleziya Sparx via DQ – This was another match designed to further the angle between the Forgotten Ones and The Jollyville F---its. Sparx looked good here showing power against Whitmer, but I think her getting her head lifted off the mat several times by Whitmer before the DQ didn’t do her any favors going forward in the tournament.

(8) Sonjay Dutt vs. Davey Vega in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. Wadsworth and Prazak were in on commentary for this contest. Dutt took control and strutted around the ring before jawing with the fans. Vega tried to mount a comeback, but Dutt cut him off with a tornado DDT. Dutt got a running start and nailed Vega with a running boot to the head from the floor. Dutt spit water in Vega’s face and began assaulting him with other assorted beverages. Vega fired back inside the ring a short time later and connected with a lariat from the apron. He followed up with a missile dropkick. He then hit a double knee charge into the corner, but he only got a 2 count. Prazak mentioned that Sparx would face M-Dogg in the next round. Both guys went back and forth and Vega caught Dutt with a dropkick as he went for a springboard. Vega then followed up with a dive to the floor and the fans fired up. Both men exchanged counters and Vega managed to land a German with a bridge for a 2 count. Dutt caught Vega charging into the corner and he drove him face-first into the middle turnbuckle for a 2 count. The crowd fired up after the near fall. Dutt got the upper hand and went for a springboard splash, but Dutt got his knees up and nearly got the win after rolling him up right away. Vega went up top and hit a frog splash for a 2 count. Dutt managed to block a suplex with a knee to Vega’s head. Both men began trading blows in the middle of the ring. Dutt ended the exchange with a big superkick. Dutt went for a super hurricanrana, but Vega rolled through. Dutt managed to counter and bridge himself on top of Vega for the win.

Winner: Sonjay Dutt

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a good match. I had a hard time getting into it because it didn’t have an internal story, but once it got going later in the match, there were some good exchanges between Dutt and Vega.

Dutt got on the mic after the match and told the fans to give it up for Vega. He told Vega to shake his hand. They shook hands and Dutt said he was on the second AIW show in 2005 and he put over what AIW had become today. Dutt said he was proud of what they were doing for JT and said he was happy with the match that he and Vega had.

(9) Danny Havoc vs. UltraMantis Black in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round No DQ No Count out match. Chikarason and Prazak are in on commentary for this match. Prazak said Black has a secret past with Death matches. Havoc hit a punch off the top to the floor and then began slamming Black’s head on the ring apron. Havoc headed backstage and came back with light tubes and barbed wire. Havoc slammed Black on the floor and hit a moonsault off the apron. That had to suck for both guys. Black ducked a charge against the guardrail and went for the light tubes inside the ring. He pulled off Havoc’s shirt and nailed him with the light tubes. Black set up Havoc on a chair and hit him with a very light unprotected chair shot. Havoc’s back was bleeding and Black continued to hold the upper hand. I can’t stand matches like this where’s there’s excessive violence for no reason. Black hit a series of big moves on Havoc and the ref had an odd looking count for the second near fall. Havoc fired back and hit a DVD on the barbed wire for the win as the fans booed.

Winner: Danny Havoc – It’s a shame that UltraMantis Black, who I enjoy watching, was booked in a match like this. I also don’t understand why the match was held under No DQ rules, which would obviously favor Havoc.

(10) Colin Delaney vs. Josh Prohibition in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. Prohibition hit a drunken driver right off the bat for a near fall after countering Delaney. Delaney tried to bail to the floor, but Prohibition went right after him. He went for a drunken driver on the ring apron, but Delaney countered and hit a springboard to the floor to wipe out Prohibition. Prohibition fired back with a wheel barrow suplex for a 2 count. Prohibition hit a neck breaker that sent Delaney to the floor and then followed up with a suicide dive. Prohibition went for a springboard, but Delaney caught him and drove him face-first into his knee for a 2 count. Delaney no-sold a big boot from Prohibition and they began trading some hard chops. Prohibition finally lifted Delaney up for a modified Steenalizer. They battled up top and Delaney went for an elbow drop, but missed. Prohibition then hit a second drunken driver for the win.

Winner: Josh Prohibition

Star rating: (***) – The match was short, but good. Prohibition and Delaney are both good in the ring and the story of Prohibition building to a match against M-Dogg while going through this tournament has been nicely executed. Prohibition looked good here.

(11) Ethan Page vs. Veda Scott in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round match. Page let Scott apply a headlock. He smiled and stood up with Scott holding onto him. Page eventually tossed Scott to the mat. Page lifted Scott over his head, but Scott slipped over him and got a pair of pinning combinations for a near fall. Scott went for a sunset flip, but Page picked her up and dumped her to the mat. The announcers mentioned the winner of this match would face Buff Bagwell. The fans tried to rally behind Scott. She went for a spin around DDT, but Page blocked it. Scott managed to counter it into a chin breaker and she followed up with a springboard bulldog for a near fall. Page fired back and drove Scott into the corner before nailing her with a slap. Page set up for a hurricanrana, but Scott hit a low blow and hung him upside down. Scott then hit a double stomp and a snap mare driver for a 2 count. Scott went up top, but Page lifted her up from the apron and slammed her back into the ring. Page followed up with a springboard diamond cutter, but Scott kicked out at the last second. Page went for a superplex, but Scott slipped out of it and hit a German off the second rope. Page rolled to the floor and Scott hit a hurricanrana off the top to the floor. Scott and Page struggled to beat the ref’s count and made it back into the ring just in time. Page caught Scott with a pair of kicks to the head. He drove Scott head first into the turnbuckles several times. He then climbed the ropes with Scott on his back, but Scott elbowed her way out of his grip. Scott then hit a bulldog off the top and covered Page, who kicked out at the last second. Scott got another rollup for a near fall on Page, but he got up and hit the spinning Dwayne for the win.

Winner: Ethan Page

Star rating: (**1/2) – This was a solid match with Scott doing a good job playing the underdog role and pulling off some big maneuvers. The crowd never fully got behind Scott, which hurt the near falls down the stretch on Page.

The crowd gave Scott a polite applause after the match. The Iron Curtain came out and surrounded the ring after the match. Gregory Iron made his way down to ringside. Scott tried to jump the Iron Curtain as they surrounded here in the ring, but she was quickly overwhelmed. Iron said it was time for his wide open challenge. Iron asked which person in the crowd had the guts to come over the guardrail and face him. Iron taunted several fans on the mic. Iron said he would wrestle Scott since nobody wanted to come over the guardrail. Delaney, Black, and Fontaine ran down to make the save. Delaney got on the mic and said he had nothing to do tomorrow. He said his friends have nothing to do tomorrow either and he challenged the Iron Curtain to an 8 Man Tag match. Iron got on the mic and accepted the challenge.

(12) AIW Absolute Champion Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Kingston in a JLIT 2014 Opening Round/AIW Absolute Title match. The announcers mentioned the winner of this match would advance to face Lovelace tomorrow. Elgin targeted Kingston's arm during the early stages of the match. Kingston finally fired back and hit a knee to the back of Elgin's head off the second rope. Elgin fired back and sent Kingston flying into the guardrail with a drop kick through the ropes. Elgin hit a shoulder breaker a short time later and pinned Kingston's shoulder down for a 2 count. Kingston tried to fire back, but Elgin hit a DDT on Kingston's arm from the second rope.

Kingston fired back with a modified Rock bottom for a 2 count. Elgin went for a buckle bomb, but Kingston countered it into a roll up for a near fall. Both men began exchanging clotheslines, but neither man would go down. Elgin blocked a back fist as they continued to go back and forth. Kingston stood up after taking a German, but walked right into a clothesline from Elgin for a 2 count. The fans just aren't into this match so far. Elgin blocked another back fist attempt and hit a pair of Saito suplexes. Kingston hit a back fist out of nowhere, but Elgin got his foot on the ropes at the last second. Elgin rolled out of a backdrop driver and hit a deadlift powerbomb for a 2 count. He then floated around Kingston and submitted him with an arm bar.

Winner: Michael Elgin to retain the AIW Absolute Championship.

Star rating: (***1/2) - I really enjoyed this match. Elgin picked apart Kingston's arm throughout the match and continually blocked the spinning back fist until Kingston hit it out of nowhere for a good near fall late. The crowd never got fully invested in the match, which is a shame because this was really good.

Elgin got on the mic after and thanked Kingston for the war. Elgin said he was here to prove he's the greatest AIW Absolute Champion in history and tomorrow he would defend the title 3 times and walk out of JLIT champion. He said he also proved he's not all about power and he proved he could wrestle. Kingston said he had an ego and didn't believe Elgin was the new hot thing and the future of wrestling. He told Elgin to win the tournament and after that he wanted another shot at the title.

Overall thoughts: (6.5) – There were of matches on the undercard that were just average at best and that slowed down the momentum of this card. With 12 first round matches for the J.T. Lightning Tournament, there was to get through and not every match was given a lot of time, which was understandable. That being said, this show nicely set the table for night 2 of the JLIT tournament.

I didn’t know what to think when Buff Bagwell was announced for the tournament. I wasn’t expecting much, but Bagwell and Jock Sampson going back and forth verbally during the match made for an incredibly entertaining contest with Jock taking digs at Buff for being a male escort and Buff retorting that Sampson’s pregnant wife is going to have to get a DNA test to see who the father of the baby is was hilarious. The crowd ate their match up and the lap dance contest between Buff and Sampson on Buff’s valet Kash was fantastic.

The Jollyville F---it’s vs. The Forgotten feud escalated during this show with Russ and T-Money costing Jacobs and Whitmer their opening round matches in the tournament. I’m looking forward to seeing these two teams clash over the AIW Tag Team Championships in the near future.

The feud between Veda Scott and Gregory Iron continued as well, as the fallout of the Page-Scott match nicely set up an 8 Man Tag between Scott & Delaney & Black & Fontaine vs. The Iron Curtain on the second night of the JLIT Tournament.

Prohibition being focused on winning his tournament matches despite having his eyes set on a future encounter with Matt Cross was a nice way to further their feud. Prohibition’s promo on Cross at the beginning of the show is one of the better independent wrestling promos I’ve seen in a long time and I thought it was great that Prohibition wrestled with such great focus during his match against Colin Delaney. Speaking of Delaney, I really enjoy his work and he’s a really likeable personality in the ring. I think AIW could have done a last year when he won the title, but quickly dropped it to Ethan Page when Page cashed in his JLIT title shot.

I really like the idea of Elgin putting his AIW Absolute Title on the line throughout the tournament. His match against Kingston wasn’t the all-out war I was expecting, but I really enjoyed seeing Elgin rely on his technical ability to beat Kingston. Elgin worked over Kingston’s arm throughout the match and continually blocked his spinning back fist throughout the match until Kingston caught him by surprise with it for a good near fall down the stretch. The fans weren’t red hot for this match, which is a shame because it was really good.

Overall, there’s enough on this show to warrant a slight thumbs up. The second night of the JLIT Tournament is set up to be a better show than the first night, but as a standalone show, I really enjoyed the match the Bagwell-Sampson and Elgin-Kingston matches. In the future, AIW should cut down on the number of participants in the matches to give some of the opening round matches more time in the ring, as a lot of the matches on the card were short.

You can purchase AIW’s “2014 J.T. Lightning Invitational Tournament: Night 1 ” on VOD by clicking HERE or by visiting SMVOD.com. For more information on AIW visit AIWrestling.com and to buy AIW DVDs visit Shop.AIWrestling.com

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